


you’re my beginning during the end

by stormyemerald



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Angst, Angst and Humor, Apocalypse, Blood and Gore, F/F, Humor, M/M, Post-Apocalypse, Slow Burn, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:42:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28195641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stormyemerald/pseuds/stormyemerald
Summary: The world has ended. And Naruto has come to terms with the bonds he’s lost, the people he never got to say good bye to.He never expected to see a familiar face along his journey, he thought she died a long time ago. He definitely never expected that he couldn’t love her like he used to.And no, it has nothing to do with the pretty dark haired man and his onyx eyes.Nope, definitely not.
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Yamanaka Ino, Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka, Hyuuga Hinata/Uzumaki Naruto, Jiraiya/Tsunade (Naruto), One Sided Hyuuga Hinata/Uzumaki Naruto - Relationship, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 15
Kudos: 40





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hi everyone! i’m super excited about this fic because i have so much planned for it! please be warned that there is going to be descriptions of violence and gore so if that is not your thing please take care!
> 
> buttt if you’re into zombies and survival and all that stuff stick around because this is going to be an interesting ride!

Traveling with Jiraiya has been an interesting series of events, Naruto thinks. Like that one time the two of them hotwired an old car just for it to break down mid drive down the barren freeway. Or that other time Jiraiya made the two of them walk a twenty mile detour just so Jiraiya could get his favorite pack of cigarettes from the one pharmacy that had sold them before the infection hit. The cigarettes were worth it, Naruto had concluded once they had gotten back on the track they were initially journeying on. 

Jiraiya was the only person he had after the infection had people start to tear and shred and _eat_ their loved ones. 

They were together when it happened, Naruto was only sixteen when he and Jiraiya discovered the mutilated bodies of his mother and father. 

The two of them had been on a fishing trip. Naruto didn’t even like to fish, but he looked up to his god-father, so if Jiraiya wanted to do boring old man stuff, then Naruto would watch his every move with awe. 

When the news spread that the world was falling into a panic, Jiraiya wasted no time to rush back home to Minato and Kushina, and well. _That_ was a picture that would haunt Naruto for years to come.

At first he was angry at Jiraiya, angry that he had been away with him and not home with his parents. But the childish blame dissipated when the world turned to shit beyond repair, and he realized that if he hadn’t been out fishing with Jiraiya, he probably would have died along with his parents.

Naruto still hates fishing.

Naruto and Jiraiya have an unspoken promise to each other; they would protect each other like they couldn’t protect Minato and Kushina.

Naruto is twenty now, and he finds that he owes a lot to the old man, that he couldn’t have asked for a better person to guide him through the wasteland that the world has become. 

Now though, Naruto finds that he wants to strangle Jiraiya more than anything else as he is being shaken awake at whatever ungodly hour it is. 

“Rise and shine, Naruto. We’ve got a long day ahead of us.” Jiraiya says when Naruto finally cracks his eyes open to the barely lit sky and Jiraiya’s dumb, smug face. They have a long history of purposely irritating each other, and waking up Naruto to disturb his sleep earlier than was actually necessary is one of Jiraiya’s favorite moves in the game of Who-will-kill-the-other-first.

Naruto knows that they have to get a move on before winter hits and they are stuck in the freezing cold, but still, letting Naruto sleep wouldn’t kill him.

Naruto feels the cool metal of the bus they had slept on top of against his back as he rubs his eyes. 

“If we keep travelling at this rate, we should be south enough that the winter won’t be as unforgiving in two weeks time.” Jiraiya says.

The previous winter they had barely survived, and Jiraiya came to the conclusion that heading south would be their best bet, even if it meant the infected would be more active because of the lack of cold to slow them down. You win some you lose some, that’s how it always has been.

  
  


Naruto and Jiraiya walk in a quiet for some time. Naruto shoves his hands into his pockets as he listens to the birds chirp above them. They are nearing a city, Naruto had noticed the buildings in the distance when he had stood up to hop down from the bus. 

They are walking on the bridge that leads into the city when their peace is disturbed by a shrill scream that fills the air and causes Naruto’s blood to turn icy. Sparing a glance at Jiraiya, the two wait for a moment, impending another scream so that they can pinpoint its location. The one scream is the beginning of a chain of relenting cries, and Naruto removes his dual axes from their holster as he rushes toward the sound. Jiraiya reaches out to grip Naruto’s forearm, a stern and questioning look in his hardened gaze.

“Naruto.” His tone is authoritative, and his eyes are unwavering. 

“We can’t just ignore it.” Naruto says firmly, giving Jiraiya a look of displeasure and disbelief at the notion that he would leave a person in need to fend for themselves. Naruto shakes the hand gripped around his arm, and marches towards the sound. 

He rounds a corner, watching his step as he peeks out from the side of the building, a shattered window decorating the sidewalk.

There’s a woman and a man, surrounded by six, seven, maybe nine or ten of the infected, Naruto can’t tell. Naruto races to the pair, Jiraiya reluctantly trails behind him.

“Hey!” Naruto shouts, and about five of the infected turn their heads to the blond, the others closing in on the woman and the man, who fumbles to load his gun. Naruto lands a swift blow to the infected’s knees, and another to it’s skull as it stumbles to its knees. 

Naruto takes care of the few that are circling the man and the woman, as Jiraiya fends off a couple more. 

When Naruto turns back to the man and the woman, he finds that one has creeped passed him and that the man has his pistol pointed at the walking corpse’s head.

Naruto extends his hand, as if the gesture would halt the man’s finger from pulling the trigger. 

“Wait!” Naruto starts, but the sound of his voice is replaced by the clamor of a bullet exiting

the muzzle of the pistol, the noise rings through the air.

The infected drops to the floor, and the whole world stills for a moment as Naruto looks to Jiraiya, who looks back at him with wide eyes. 

Naruto looks back to the man with a pained expression, as the distant shuffles and groans of infected ones draw near to their location.

Dozens of infected ones, approach from all angles, some creeping out of dark alleyways, others rounding the corner of the surrounding buildings. 

Naruto loses track after he counts fifteen of them because a few begin to close in on him. 

Jiraiya clears a path to him by kicking and slashing a few of the infected ones surrounding Naruto, and uses his firm grip once again to drag Naruto away by the wrist. 

Naruto is ushered away from the woman and the man, and looks back apologetically as the woman once again shrieks, his view being blocked by the hoard of the infected ones. 

He hears the sound of tearing flesh, and the man cries out in agony, but Naruto just keeps running forward, following Jiraiya’s footsteps.

They make it to an overturned sixteen wheeler, and Jiraiya practically shoves Naruto on top of it before Naruto extends his hand to pull him up after him.

The two of them reluctantly pull out their pistols, there was no point in trying to avoid loud noises, now. 

Back to back, they pick off a few, as most of them have more interest in the fresh bodies of the two people Naruto had tried to save. 

Apparently one of the remaining infected that has found more interest in Naruto and Jiraiya than the man and the woman had at some point used a set of tires to get a closer reach on Jiraiya. When Naruto turns around, he sees the infected yank at Jiraiya’s ankle, and the old man fumbles off of the truck. 

“Fuck!” Naruto shoots a couple of the infected that surround Jiraiya and hops down from the truck to be a barrier between the man and the dead.

Jiraiya tries to scramble to his feet, but immediately crashes back down, his back hitting the truck. 

Naruto cuts down the last few infected that had followed them in favor of the man and woman, and quickly turns to Jiraiya, who has a hand on his ankle, cursing at the pain.

“Fuck.” Naruto repeats and rushes to his side, eyes following where Jiraiya holds his leg. It’s bent in a way a human appendage should never be twisted. “That shit’s definitely sprained.” 

“No shit, Sherlock.” Jiraiya attempts to chuckle, but the sudden shift of his position causes him to inhale sharply. “Come on, let’s just get out of here. Gotta find supplies to fix this.” He says as he kicks his leg out weakly, using Naruto to steady him.

“How are we meant to travel if you can barely walk?” Naruto says after a pain in his shoulder begins to settle in from carrying Jiraiya’s weight. They’ve been traveling for only a few minutes, but the adrenaline rush from the battle had worn off, and Naruto is beginning to think in hindsight.

“Ah, it’s just a little twisted. I’ll be fine.” Jiraiya says, as he attempts to limp, shifting so that most of his weight isn’t bringing Naruto down. “We’ve been through worse, Naruto. Plus you’re nuts with those axes, I’m sure you can watch my back for me.” 

Naruto nods and feels a little bit reassured.

  
  
  


It’s hours before they find a pharmacy, deep into the city. The ache of Naruto’s shoulder is lifted once he props Jiraiya against a wall in between two of the isles inside the small establishment.

“Hurry, will you? I don’t want this to be my final resting place.” Jiraiya says with a tinge of sarcasm as he lights a cigarette. Naruto is sure they traveled far enough from the infected ones they encountered earlier, but still, better safe than sorry.

“That’s a little dramatic, don’t you think?” Naruto says before he jerks his head in the direction of the rest of the store. “I’ll be back. Hopefully with bandages or something.” He shrugs and scratches the back of his head.

Naruto has a hard time finding shelves that aren’t completely empty, and the ones that do have items on them only have random shit like toothpicks and tape. He huffs and moves to the back of the store, where a ravaged pharmacy counter occupies the corner of the store.

Naruto approaches the counter, but stops mid step when one of the shelving units jerks slightly. He knits his brows together when he hears a feminine voice curse in a whispered breath.

His hand instinctively reaches for the handle of one of his axes strapped to his back, but finds himself quite amused to listen to the voice’s continuous chain of curses.

Naruto continues his approach, stepping on a damaged piece of wood that likely fell from the ceiling. The sudden snap of the wooden plank causes the voice to cease its murmurs. Naruto once again freezes, wary of the sudden quiet.

He takes but one step forward, and a woman with vibrant pink hair pops out from behind the shelving unit with a pistol aimed at his head.

Naruto would say that she’s very pretty, but at the moment he is more concerned at the gun pointed at his face. 

“Don’t,” She starts, the word comes out slow and Naruto feels that the intimidating expression on her face is enough to fuel his nightmares. “...take another step.” She finishes. Naruto slowly raises his hands to be level with his head.

“You got it. I’m not here to hurt you.” Naruto shakes his head and swallows.

“I doubt you could.” The woman replies, venom dripping in her voice. Naruto is just going to pretend that the stab didn’t sting his ego just a little bit. “Who are you?” The woman bites out.

“My name’s Naruto Uzumaki. I’m just here to find supplies for my buddy. He’s uh--he’s hurt.” The woman’s emerald eyes look up and down Naruto’s form, and he suddenly feels strangely insecure under her piercing gaze. “I’m not your enemy.” Naruto tries, sounding as sincere as he could.

“Is it just you two?” She says, gun still aimed at him.

“Yeah. It’s just us.” 

The woman lowers her gun only slightly, before she exhales a breath.

“What’s wrong with your partner?” She asks.

“His ankle’s sprained. He fell.” Naruto rolls his eyes at Jiraiya’s clumsiness. It’s not like he’s any better, really. The woman studies him once more, before she reaches into the shelving next to her with her free hand, the other still lining the gun up with Naruto’s head. 

She turns back to him and tosses him a rolled up elastic bandage. He nearly drops it before he catches it, and fixes her with a confused look.

“That should be able to help your friend.” She says, lowering her gun once again. 

“Thanks.” Naruto returns, a small appreciative smile playing on his lips. 

“You know, you shouldn’t willingly give a stranger all that information about yourself just because they asked.” Her gun now rests below her waist, but her calloused fingers still remained wrapped around the handle. “Now go help him.”

Naruto makes a surprised sound, and confusion leaks onto his face. “Hurry, before I change my mind.” The woman says. 

“Oh, um. Yeah. Absolutely. Thank you for this.” He says as he waves the bandages at her, beginning to turn back to where he had left Jiraiya.

  
  


Naruto returns to Jiraiya, half asleep with his hands wrapped around his pistol and the dimming cigarette hanging from his lips.

“Aye, old man.” Jiraiya startles awake, eyes searching frantically before they finally stop on Naruto, who crouches down to Jiraiya’s level. “I think we can try to fix your leg.” Naruto says.

“By “we” I hope you mean you. Because I have no idea how to treat a busted ankle.” Jiraiya picks up the cigarette that had fallen from his mouth after Naruto woke him, and puts it between his fingers before he takes a long drag. 

“Well, I’m just going to have to figure it out.” Naruto starts to unroll the bandages, and then stares at them dumbly as he contemplates what to do next.

  
  


He spends the next five or so minutes fumbling to wrap the bandage around Jiraiya’s ankle in a way that is comfortable. He nearly jumps out of his skin when he hears the woman from before speak from Naruto and Jiraiya’s side.

She is leaning against a wall a little ways away, and Naruto mentally scolds himself for not noticing her presence sooner.

“As amusing as it is to watch you fail repeatedly, I feel obligated to point out that you’re going to need to do more than wrap it.” She begins. “That ankle is broken.”

Jiraiya tries to fumble for his pistol, but Naruto stops his hand from moving any further. “Do you know this woman?” Jiraiya whispers at Naruto’s touch.

“Just relax, Jiraiya. I don’t think she’s an enemy.” Naruto says quietly, before turning back to the woman who watches them curiously.

“You were the one who gave me these.” Naruto says in rebuttal to the woman’s statement, picking up the bandages and letting them fall from his hand. Jiraiya watches warily in silence. 

“You told me that it was _sprained_. Not broken.” The woman states, matter of factly. In truth, Naruto hadn’t considered the possibility that Jiraiya’s ankle could actually be broken, in hopes that a simple trip to a pharmacy would fix it. “The bandages will prevent swelling, but you’re going to need a cast to really help it heal.”

Naruto nods thoughtfully, and then looks back to the pile of tangled bandages that lay draping Jiraiya’s ankle. “I know this might be asking a lot but. Do you, uh, do you think you could help me out?” He asks and he fully expects the woman to pull out her gun and shoot him right then and there. 

He’s extremely surprised when the woman exhales and shrugs. “You’re lucky you’re handsome. Otherwise I don’t think I’d trust you.” She says with humor to her tone. “I’m Sakura, by the way.”

Naruto finds that this time when the woman approaches, he isn’t fearing for his life.

  
  


“Alright.” Sakura starts, around fifteen minutes later, inhaling and placing her hands on her hips. “I think that’s all I can do for you now.”

“Thanks, Pinky.” Jiraiya says with a smile as he adjusts his position and shuffles back against the wall.

“Yeah, we really appreciate it.” Sakura nods and Naruto suddenly runs a stressed hand through his unruly hair. “So what do you think we should do? Since the bandages won’t be enough to fully heal it.” He searches Sakura’s face, watching as her intelligent green eyes seemingly scan her mind for a solution.

“I would tell you to go look around the store for something we could use, but I’ve searched just about every corner and haven’t found shit.” She says before a hesitation makes itself prevalent on her delicate yet hardened features. She must have seen things no one should ever experience for her pretty features to hold such an inured way about them, Naruto thinks. 

Naruto nods at her words as he anticipates what she might say next. 

“There is another option. But I’m not sure if I can fully trust you guys yet.” She folds her arms as she speaks. 

“Look lady, if we really wanted to hurt you, it would have happened already.” Jiraiya says curtly. “Plus it would be pretty shitty of us to kill a person who just helped us out.”

“Yeah. I promise we aren’t assholes. Well, at least _I’m_ not.” Naruto says, shooting a smirk at Jiraiya. 

Sakura tilts her head as she mulls it over. “You’re dangerously charming.” Sakura starts, and Naruto feels some sense of comradery brewing. “Well, I come from a base east from here, on the coast. We’re held up in an old cargo ship, there’s, like, a couple dozen of us.” 

Naruto beams at the suggestion he hopes she is about to make, and he hangs on her every word. 

“I’m sure we’ll have more than enough room for two more, and we can treat his wound properly once we get there.” Sakura says, and Naruto feels like a heavy weight is lifted off of his chest, until a loud bang sounds from the front of the store and the weight comes crashing down to his gut.

Three heads turn to the commotion, and Naruto is horrified to find a horde of infected swarming around the glass front of the store. It must be the horde from before finally catching up to them. Naruto connects with Sakura’s gaze, and is surprised to find no trace of fear in her features. She looks between Naruto and Jiraiya, and a determined fire lights in her eyes. 

“Come on, let’s help him up.” Sakura says.

Naruto complies without hesitating, there was just something about her that made Naruto have faith in her commands. 

“I hope you have a plan.” Jiraiya says, hissing as the two of them take to Jiraiya’s sides and support him from under his arms.

“Where are we gonna go?” Naruto says as they lift Jiraiya to his feet. He hears glass shatter from the front of the store.

“Just follow me.” Sakura replies, and Naruto follows her lead, putting all of his trust in this pink haired stranger.

The groans and shuffling of the infected infiltrate the store, and Naruto and Sakura navigate to the pharmacy’s counter, Sakura hopping over first to help guide Jiraiya over. Naruto pushes the old man over the counter and into Sakura’s hold before he hops the counter himself.

The three of them move as swiftly as they can to the very back of the store, and Sakura plants a firm kick on a back exit door Naruto didn’t catch before. They hurry outside, the groans of the infected growing louder as they trickle out from the same door Naruto, Sakura, and Jiraiya just escaped from. Sakura leads them towards a run down van parked in the back alley of the shopping strip. 

She makes a motion with her hand to signal to whoever's in the front seat to unlock the back doors. Sakura opens the door and shoves Naruto and Jiraiya into the van, then turns her back to fire a few shots at the approaching infected before hopping in herself. 

A man and a woman, with brown and blond ponytails rush to the back of the van to slam the door behind her.

“Go, Chouji!” Sakura shouts to the front, and Naruto jerks forward as the van accelerates out of the alleyway faster than what would have been legal.

  
After the driver, Chouji, if Naruto remembers correctly, speeds away from the pharmacy and into the city streets, Naruto feels a collective exhale of adrenaline release from everyone in the van. Naruto looks at the two new faces and finds an awkward silence beginning to form before Sakura quells it by speaking.

“Ino, Shikamaru, this is Naruto and…” Sakura gestures to Jiraiya. If this were any other situation Naruto would have punched Jiraiya for being so rude as to not give him name to a new friend, but they have other things to worry about. Like who the fuck’s van they just jumped into.

“Jiraiya.” The old man says, leaning back against the van’s interior and elevating his leg on his back pack.

“Jiraiya.” Sakura repeats. “They’re coming back to the ship with us.” Sakura states matter of factly. 

“Boss is gonna kill us.” The man with the ponytail, Shikamaru, drawls.

“We have plenty of room. And plus they’re already in our van so it’s too late to protest now.” Sakura says, her tone leaving no room for arguments.

“If you’re the one who’s gonna tell her, fine by me.” The blond haired woman says. “Plus this one’s cute, so.” Ino shrugs, nodding her head at Naruto, who raises his eyebrows.

“Why do people keep saying that?” Jiraiya jabs, and Naruto rolls his eyes. 

He never thought that _this_ , sitting in the back of a cramped van with a bunch of strangers, would be the safest he’s felt in years.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey everyone! i just wanted to say that im sorry if there are any typos in this, im just so excited to post it! please enjoy :)

When Naruto’s feet hit warm sand and an ocean breeze grazes his tanned skin, his eyes are met with the sight of a ginormous cargo ship that rests beached along the shore.

“Holy shit.” Jiraiya says to break the awe filled silence, Naruto and Shikamaru at either of his sides each with an arm slung around their shoulders.

Sakura jumps down from the van after them, and she turns to extend her hand for Ino to grab as she hops down after her.

“Home sweet home.” Sakura says, hand still linked with Ino’s. 

Naruto looks forward again to the ship, enamored by its sheer size. He hears Sakura yell to Chouji to help her with the bags of supplies that are collecting in the back of the van.

“Follow me.” Sakura says once she secures one more backpack on her back, and starts towards the side of the ship, where a metal mechanism hangs above them. She uses her hands to cup around her mouth. “Hey! Lower the platform! It’s Sakura!” She shouts to whoever might be up there.

A distant thumbs up peeks over the edge, and the sound of chains grinding against each other fill the air as the hanging platform lowers to the ground.

“Just a warning,” Sakura starts once everyone steps onto the platform and gets situated, “The woman in charge here...she can be a bit intense. But we all love and respect her so try not to get on her bad side.” 

“Noted.” Naruto says. “Better not be a dick, Jiraiya.” He nudges Jiraiya slightly with his elbow.

“Yeah, yeah, kid. Take your shots at the crippled old man.” Jiraiya replies, shifting more of his weight onto Naruto on purpose. Shikamaru watches with a bored expression as he supports Jiraiya from the other side.

When the platform becomes level with the deck of the ship, Naruto takes in the sight of the bustling life that teems around them. There were only maybe, twenty or so people on this floor, but Naruto hadn’t seen so many _living_ people in one spot since the whole thing started.

Naruto isn’t even mad about the questioning gazes that stare him and Jiraiya down as Sakura leads them to some destination.

“Ino, Chouji. You two take the bags to the supply room.” Sakura hands the extra pack to the blonde haired woman, who follows after Chouji and playfully bumps shoulders with him, no doubt the two of them already engaged in a friendly conversation. Naruto had observed a lot in the van, and he could tell the four new faces he met are very well acquainted with each other.

“As for you guys, follow me.” Sakura walks ahead of them, and Naruto exchanges a glance with Shikamaru, who looks less than excited to be here.

  
  


After walking through a narrow hallway, the quartet stops in front of a quiet, elongated room with hospital beds lining the walls. There’s a few people laying in the beds, mingling with people wearing gloves and stethoscopes, who Naruto can only assume are the medical staff of the facility. 

“Jiraiya, I’m gonna ask you to just hang out on one of these beds for a bit while I get the boss. I’m sure she’s going to want to meet you. Then I can get you patched up.”

“Right.” Jiraiya responds. Sakura nodded her head to signal to Shikamaru and Naruto to gently help Jiraiya to situate himself, and once they were done, Shikamaru bid his goodbye and followed after her.

“I guess this is home now, huh.” Jiraiya starts, reaching into his pocket for another cigarette. 

“That is if you don't piss off this boss they keep talking about.” Naruto retorts and shrugs his sweatshirt off of his shoulders.

“ _And_ if _you_ don’t piss off your new girlfriend.” Jiraiya responds with equal venom, and it takes Naruto a moment to figure out who he is referring to.

“Touche.” Naruto narrows his eyes. “She’s very pretty, yeah, but she’s not my type. I like her so far though, seems like a reliable ally.. So don’t screw this up.” Naruto turns his head to the entrance of the room to see Sakura being followed by a different blond woman, this one with honey colored eyes. She _looks_ strong, and her presence commands his attention. She even looks familiar.

“Naruto, Jiraiya, this is Tsu-“

“Tsunade?” Jiraiya sits up from where he once laid reclined on the bed, the cigarette falling from his mouth. Naruto is quick to put it out as he curiously watched the interaction. 

The woman’s eyes go wide, and her stone cold expression turns into one overwhelmed with shock, which melts into fondness.

“Ji...Jiraiya.” The woman stutters. There’s a moment of silence between them, Naruto and Sakura looking at each other with equally confused gazes. The woman bursts into tears and practically latches on to Jiraiya, a sad smile forming on her elegant features.

“I thought you were dead.” She says, and Jiraiya squeezes her tight and buries his face into her hair. 

“I could say the same for you.” Jiraiya says quietly. Naruto raises an eyebrow. 

“Does anyone wanna fill me in here?” He says, glancing at Sakura as though she would have any answers.

“Tsunade, this is my god-son Naruto. I think you met him when he was really little.” Jiraiya says.

“Oh my. I remember. I met you when you were only a little thing.” Tsunade’s fond expression radiates throughout the room. Naruto smiles politely but glances to Jiraiya for assistance in recalling who exactly this woman is.

“Tsunade is...was my partner for a while until we uh, we went our separate ways.” Jiraiya scratches the back of his head as a hue of red forms on his cheeks. 

“Well it’s good to see you two reunite.” Naruto supplies to the conversation. Sakura clears her throat.

“Naruto, why don’t we let them catch up while I show you where you’ll be staying.” Sakura says and looks at Tsunade, who nods before turning back to Jiraiya.

Naruto follows her out of the room, an excitement building in his chest as he thinks about the new faces he is going to meet and the new life he is about to start.

  
  
  


Naruto and Sakura engage in a quick conversation as Sakura leads him down a staircase to a long hallway with doors scattered along the walls. 

She stops in front of one of the doors, and Naruto peaks through the window and, curiously, his eyes land on a black tuft of hair. 

Sakura knocks one of those obnoxious tuned knocks, and Naruto hears a deep voice from inside the room grumble her name. Sakura smirks at Naruto with a shit eating grin, and Naruto figures that the person behind the door and Sakura are either really close or hate each other. 

“Sasuke, did you miss me?” Sakura says, chipper, as the man, Sasuke opens the door. Naruto has to refrain from raising his eyebrows and widening his eyes, because the man who opens the door is one of the most attractive fucking human beings Naruto has ever seen. 

“Not anymore.” Sasuke says, rolling his midnight eyes. They were intense and sharp and perfectly angled to fit his face and why the fuck is Naruto studying the logistics of this guy's face? 

The man shoots a questioning glare at Naruto, giving him a once-over, and he can’t help but feel like during the brief eye contact, the man studies and archives all of his secrets.

Sasuke’s eyes return to Sakura, and his lip curls up slightly to smile at her, before he pulls her into an embrace and cards his fingers through his pink locks. “I’m glad you made it back.” He whispers. 

Naruto feels like he’s interrupting, so he clears his throat awkwardly and searches around the room for something to look at, preferably not the pretty man hugging Sakura.

“So who’s your friend?” Sasuke folds his arms and leans against the door frame.

“Your new roommate. This is Naruto.” Sakura mimics Sasuke’s stance and crosses her arms over her chest. Naruto wasn’t aware that Sakura was taking him to meet his roommate, but it makes sense in his head considering the facility needs to conserve space as much as they can.

Naruto waves sheepishly, the man’s intimidating demeanor making him think twice about initiating a hand shake. 

Sasuke makes a curious sound and scans Naruto once again.

“Alrighty, well you two have fun. I gotta go help Tsunade with a few patients. Including your old dude.” Sakura says to Naruto before she lightly punches Sasuke in the arm. “See you guys later. Oh, and Naruto,” Sakura turns around in her tracks and begins to walk backwards. “Welcome to the family.”

Naruto feels a warmth in his heart at the notion of having something to protect, something to be a part of. 

The pretty man opens the door, and gestures for Naruto to come in.

“I hope you aren't messy.” He says. 

Naruto makes a mental note to _no longer be messy._

The room is small, a single bed occupying one corner and a bare mattress rests on the floor in the other. A foldable nightstand with a small lamp, separates the two of them. Naruto notices a katana leaning against the bed’s frame.

“That mattress is all yours, pal.” Sasuke says, sitting down on his bed. He reaches over and picks up the katana and the rag that sat on the nightstand, running the rag over the blade.

“Thanks.” Is the only thing Naruto can bring himself to say. He walks the few feet to the mattress. Naruto tosses his single pack into his corner of the room, and begins to unstrap the axes attached to his back. 

“So...What’s your story?” Naruto says, wanting to quell the awkward silence, even if the other man doesn’t seem to mind. Sasuke’s eyes flick upwards quickly, a pause before he speaks.

“Well, my name’s Sasuke. I came here alone and I’ve stuck around for about a year and half now. That’s pretty much it.” He says, and Naruto can sense there is much more to the narrative, but knows when to pry and when he shouldn’t. There’s another pause. “What about you?” Sasuke says. Naruto hadn’t expected him to give a shit.

“Oh, uh. I’m Naruto. I’ve been traveling with my god-father since everything went to shit. He can be a bit of a prick but he’s the closest thing to family I’ve got.” Naruto notices a change in Sasuke’s expression, but he doesn’t know him well enough to pinpoint it’s meaning. “Never thought I’d end up in a place like this. I didn’t even think there were this many people still alive.” Naruto lays down on the mattress and closes his eyes, taking in the serenity of actually having a permanent residence, at least he hopes. 

Sasuke doesn’t respond, but Naruto could tell that he was listening.

“Here.” Sasuke says, and Naruto is hit in the face by a folded blanket.

“Thank you.” He says, sitting up and unfolding it. Naruto feels a sudden wave of exhaustion, and whether or not it was brought upon by the soft material of the blanket, he couldn’t tell. So he reclines on the mattress once again and rolls onto his side, the sounds of Sasuke fiddling with his sword quietly filling the air.

  
  
  


After Naruto is half way to sleep, a loud bang sounds throughout the room, causing Naruto to shoot up and instinctively reach for one of his axes that lay on the floor next to him. 

Naruto searches the room for the source of the commotion, to find Sasuke staring at him wide eyed, and his katana laying on the floor. Sasuke looks to be just in the middle of picking it back up.

Sasuke chuckles, a sound so low that if you weren't listening you might miss it, and Naruto is stuck between suddenly feeling stupid or feeling partly victorious that he made the man laugh. Maybe a bit of both.

“Ah, fuck.” Naruto says, once he finally relaxes after being abruptly woken, and rubs a tired hand over his face.

“You’re funny.” Sasuke says, his monotone voice making his words hard to believe. “I hope you stick around longer than my last roommate.”

“What happened to your last roommate?” Naruto says gravely. He wonders if he’d be able to dodge it if Sasuke lunges his sword at him.

“I killed him.” Sasuke leans forward from where he hits on the bed, a strange glint in his eyes. 

“Really?” Naruto says, eyes wide.

“No. But that would make for a more interesting story, wouldn’t it?” Sasuke deadpans. So he does have a sense of humor. Naruto would have to get used to that. Naruto studies his face, he can’t tell why this guy is the hardest person in the world to read. “He died the same way everyone does. He was killed during a mission, a couple infected got the jump on us.”

“Ah, man. I’m sorry.” Naruto says, sincerely, knowing what it's like to lose someone.

“Don’t be. The guy was a dick.” Sasuke leans back on his bed. Naruto almost chuckles at the abrupt statement. Sasuke’s dark, it’s alluring. “I like you better than that asshole already.” Sasuke says. “Although I’m gonna miss having the room to myself.”

“Well, you’re my first roommate. So this is either going to be a wonderful experience, or you’re gonna give me some type of PTSD and I won't be able to hear the words “room” or “mate” in a sentence without having flashbacks.” Naruto feels that although Sasuke’s humor is unlike anyone he’s ever met, it’s easy for him to bounce off of.

Sasuke laughs, like _really_ laughs. Naruto’s strangely proud of himself that he amused the man enough for him to make such an amazing sound, so he celebrates the small victory by laughing with him.

  
  


After a few more exchanged laughs, Naruto finds himself closing his eyes once more, and he thinks Sasuke has done the same, based on the way his breathing evens out and the room falls quiet.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi everyone! welcome to chapter three! i know its a little short but this one is really just focused on dynamics of different characters and what not. next chapter will have more development between Naruto and Sasuke!! enjoy!

Naruto wakes up to something kicking at his side, and when he cracks his eyes open, it's to Sasuke standing over him.

“Choji’s making stew. Wanna come?” Sasuke says, retracting his foot from where it had been poking at Naruto. Naruto finds that anything related to food being mentioned makes his stomach growl. Hungry and confused, Naruto nods.

“Yeah. How long was I asleep?” He asks, looking around the room as though something will indicate how much time has passed.

“Not sure.” Sasuke shrugs. “I was basically asleep for as long as you were. Just woke up to take a piss and ran into Ino, she told me about the food. Now I’m wide awake.” Sasuke extends his hand for Naruto to take, and Naruto complies as Sasuke pulls him up.

  
  
  
  


When Naruto and Sasuke make it to the deck of the ship, people are chatting and laughing with bowls in their hands while others line up for Choji, who stands at a makeshift fire pit with a pot hanging over the flame.

“Hey, Sasuke.” Choji says, pouring some of the stew into a bowl and handing it to Sasuke. He nods to Naruto as he makes another bowl.

“Welcome to the ship.” He says with a polite smile, and hands Naruto the bowl.

“Thanks.” Naruto responds, genuinely touched by the kindness of everyone he’s met so far.

Naruto and Sasuke find themselves leaning over the railing of the ship, gazing down at the sand that eventually leads to the ocean. 

The sun's rays are a bright orange as it begins to dip below the horizon and Naruto basks in the warm light hitting his skin.

Naruto studies Sasuke’s profile, his slender nose and his sharp eyes framed by the darkest hair he’d ever seen. His hair is long, it covers his left eye, but sometimes the wind hits them just right and his hairs sways, revealing the other onyx eye. Naruto finds himself nearly jumping to catch it, to see all of Sasuke’s face before his hair curtains it again.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Sasuke says, and Naruto can’t tell if he just caught Naruto staring and is making a narcissistic comment or if he meant the sunrise. “Sometimes I forget there’s still beauty in this world.”

Naruto agrees with the sentiment, and nods. “Yeah. Me too.”

“Shit like this seems so insignificant but when you think about it, it’s on the list of things to stay alive for.” Sasuke says, and Naruto has never thought of it that way, but the notion brings him peace. “The first thing on that list being Choji’s cooking.” Sasuke throws in, and Naruto laughs.

“I’d have to agree with that.” Naruto follows up after his laughter.

They fall into a comfortable silence, and Naruto is surprised there can even be such a thing with a person he met just this day, but he doesn’t question it, and finds himself reveling in the simple dynamic of Sasuke’s company.

“Yo, Sasuke.” An unfamiliar voice says. Naruto mimics Sasuke in turning around to the sound. 

“Kakashi.” Sasuke says as the man brings Sasuke close in a choke hold and ruffles his hair.

Sasuke elbows him in the side before standing up straight again. The man is a bit older than them, Naruto can tell, but not old enough to where his grey hair is a result of aging. 

“How did the mission go?” Sasuke asks.

“Fine. We needed more clothes so Yamato, Sai, and I filled our bags to the brim and came back looking like fucking Santa Claus. Just dropped off the supplies at the storage room.” Kakashi says. Then he nods to Naruto. “Who’s your friend?”

“My new roommate.” Sasuke answers.

“Naruto.” Naruto extends his hand out for Kakashi to shake, and he complies. He pulls down the mask he is wearing, revealing a handsome guy with straight teeth as he smiles politely at Naruto. 

“Kakashi. Good to have you here.” The man then loops an arm over Sasuke’s shoulders. “Hope this ones not giving you too much trouble.”

Sasuke grumbles under his breath and Naruto feels amusement play onto his face.

“No not at all.” Naruto says. Then, cheekily, he adds. “So far.” 

“What is this ‘shit on Sasuke’ day?” Sasuke asks, incredulous.

Naruto chuckles and Sasuke’s lips curl up at the corner in a slight smirk.

Kakashi yawns and stretches his arms behind his head. “Man, I’m fucking exhausted. I think I’m gonna turn in for the night.” Kakashi places his hands on his hips. “See you guys tomorrow.” Kakashi gives them a little wave and leaves them, Sasuke watching after him. 

“The sun barely even set, Kakashi.” Sasuke calls after him.

“You’re really going to let a ball of fire millions of miles away determine when you can and can’t sleep? Fuck that.” Kakashi shouts back and turns around momentarily to shrug as he walks backwards into the hallway. 

Sasuke turns forward and rests against the railing once again. Naruto leans backwards on the railing, preferring the view of Sasuke’s face rather than the ocean and the darkening sky.

“Are you guys close?” Naruto dares to ask, unsure of how personal Sasuke is willing to get.

“Yeah. He’s kinda like an uncle to me. He’s the one who brought me here.” Sasuke’s eyes look distant as he reminisces. “He’s a bit of a nut but I love the guy.” 

Naruto chuckles. “Sounds like the old man.” Naruto then smacks his forehead in realization. “Ah, shit. That reminds me.”

  
  
  


Naruto tries his best to remember how to get to the medical area as he navigates the ship alone. Sasuke had opted to stay on the deck and smoke a cigarette, so he told him he’d meet him back at the room.

After a few minutes of wandering aimlessly, he spots a pink head of hair from down the hallway exiting from the room he remembers seeing Jiraiya last in.

“Sakura!” Naruto calls from down the hallway as he jogs to catch up to her.

“Oh, hey. Jiraiya’s just inside there.” Sakura supplies before he even has to ask.

“How’s he doing?” Naruto asks, one hand ready to push the door open.

“He’ll be fine. We set him up with some crutches for now. Tsunade’s in there too.” 

Naruto nods. “Thank you for everything, Sakura.” He says.

Sakura smiles and shakes her head. “No need to thank me.” She says, punching Naruto lightly on the arm before turning on her heel and starting down the hallway.

  
  


Naruto walks in to see Jiraiya still talking to the blonde woman in charge. She sits on a chair next to his bed with her hand in his. Both of their heads turn to meet Naruto as he approaches them with a sheepish smile on his face. 

“How are you feeling, old man?” 

“Well, I’m not dead yet, am I?” Jiraiya supplies. Tsunade gently hits his shoulder and clicks her tongue. 

“He should be healed in maybe a month.” Tsunade answers for him. “Usually we would send you out to carry your weight by participating in supply runs but considering your condition, you’ll be excused until you’re perfectly healthy.”

“How kind of you.” Jiraiya smirks and Tsunade rolls her eyes, the slightest blush on her cheeks.

Tsunade turns to Naruto. “You, on the other hand, are perfectly fit to run. I’ll give you some time to settle in before I send you out, however.” 

“I’m ready to go whenever you need me.” Naruto shrugs.

“Good to know. I’ll give you a week then? We aren’t in a rush for supplies right now so I'll be lenient.” She says and there's a pause, her eyes move between Naruto and Jiraiya, her face adopting an expression of disbelief. “I can’t believe we’ve found each other in all of this.” She says suddenly, and even though Naruto doesn’t really remember the woman, he finds himself feeling a fondness for her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi all! i know its been a while since my last update. i haven’t felt very motivated to write but recently i have been getting back into it! this chapter might be a bit short but it explores more of naruto and sasuke’s dynamic! enjoy!

The next week consists of Naruto helping around the ship as much as he can, and simultaneously he finds that he and Sasuke make pretty fast friends. They spend a lot of time together by default, considering the fact they’re roommates.

When Sasuke isn’t on a run, Naruto is usually accompanying him around the ship so that he “doesn’t get lost.” Naruto wouldn’t admit that he just enjoyed Sasuke’s company, and he definitely wouldn’t admit to his growing attraction to him.

Soon, Tsunade assigns Naruto on supply runs with a variety of people from the ship, and when he returns, Sasuke is always waiting on the deck of the ship for him. 

It’s become a habit for the two of them to share a cigarette and watch as the sun makes way for the moon when either returns from a run. 

The first time Naruto senses a shift in their dynamic is about a month after Naruto and Jiraiya first showed up at the ship, and he finds himself waiting on the deck for Sasuke, as usual, two cigarettes dangling from his fingers and a lighter in the other one. 

“Hey, dumbass.” Sasuke starts, shrugging one strap of his backpack off, while Naruto helps the other off his shoulder. Naruto puts the pack at his feet and hands Sasuke the second cigarette.

“Hello to you, too.” Naruto responds, lighting Sasuke’s cigarette and then his own. Naruto watches as Sasuke slumps against the railing, burying his face into his hands. “Rough day?” Naruto asks and Sasuke releases the longest exhale Naruto has ever heard.

“Yeah.” He says. “Had to leave behind an entire bag of non perishables because we got swamped by a horde. Then the van wouldn’t start so I had to distract the infected while Kakashi tried to fix it.” 

“Sounds like a blast.” Naruto says sarcastically, and Sasuke fixes him with a glare. “But you made it back in one piece. That’s all that matters at the end of the day.” Naruto amends his sarcasm as he tries not to sound too relieved at the fact.

“I guess so. I’m just fucking exhausted.” Sasuke says, and then the thing happens, something that causes Naruto to nearly short circuit. Sasuke leans his head on Naruto’s shoulder casually. Casually. Like the notion doesn't make Naruto’s heart race and cause him to freeze. After a moment, Naruto decides not to question it. He smiles forward towards the setting sun as a scarlet begins to brush his cheeks, and he doesn’t dare move until Sasuke does. 

Naruto is coming back from Tsunade’s office after a briefing of his next mission. The door to his and Sasuke’s room is closed, and Naruto doesn’t think twice about opening it without knocking.

First of all, Naruto nearly jumps out of his skin when he’s met with Sasuke as he fully expected the room to be empty. To make matters even worse, Naruto freezes when he notices Sasuke is in fact half naked with nothing but a towel around his waist.

“Oh. Hi.” Naruto says dumbly, eyes scanning over Sasuke’s form before they pointedly lock onto Sasuke’s face and desperately try to stay there. Sasuke arches a thin and amused eyebrow.

“Hey.” Sasuke returns.

“I didn’t expect you to be back yet. When did you get here?” Naruto says.

“A little bit ago, I just got out of the shower.”

“Yeah, I, uh, I can see that. Nice. Showering is good. Gotta stay clean, y’know.” Naruto says ever so eloquently and the urge to punch himself grows stronger with each word that leaves his mouth. Sasuke folds his arms, his tongue poking the inside of his cheek as his lips curl at the corners.

“Right.” Sasuke drawls. “Do you stare at everyone like that or is this some sort of artistic exercise and you’re about to pull out a sketch pad just so you don’t forget what I look like?” His voice is saturated in sarcasm.

“What? No.” Naruto can only think to respond with.

“That’s unfortunate. I was just about to drop my towel and ask you to draw me like one of your french girls.” Sasuke shrugs his shoulders. Naruto can’t tell if this is Sasuke’s twisted way of flirting or not.

“Very funny. Got anymore pop culture references for me today or was it just the one?” Naruto’s wit slowly returns to him.

“Just the one, I think.” Sasuke confirms, grabbing a folded shirt from his bed.

“I’ll just wait outside until you’re done.” Naruto says after a pause.

Sasuke rolls his eyes so hard Naruto feels like he could hear the annoyance poured into the motion. “This is your room, too, dumbass.” Sasuke says. “Plus I don’t mind an audience.”

“See, now you made it weird.” Naruto says as he shuffles into the room, face reddening.

“So now you’re critiquing my flirting skills, huh. I’m taking that as a jab to my character.” Sasuke pulls the shirt over his head finally. 

So he is flirting. Huh. 

Two people can play at that game.

“Well, I’m a pretty tough critic. Maybe you should flirt with me more so you can hone your skills. Practice makes perfect, doesn’t it?” Naruto quipped, leaning against the wall next to the door frame. Sasuke raises both of his eyebrows, probably not expecting the clever response so quickly. 

Sasuke tilts his head, his face adopting a curious look, like he’s calculating something. Or maybe he’s sizing Naruto up. Naruto couldn’t tell. He takes a few slow strides, approaching Naruto with the slightest grin. Naruto watches his every step with anticipation, and isn’t sure what Sasuke will do next when he stops in front of him, their faces inches apart. Naruto struggles, but pointedly tries to keep his eyes fixed on Sasuke’s so that they don’t wander to his lips; he wasn’t going to chicken out now and let Sasuke take the win for this round of whatever game they were playing.

“A tough critic, are you?” Sasuke says, his breath mingling with Naruto’s. Sasuke’s face comes impossibly close, but veers to Naruto’s left as he makes for Naruto’s ear. “Maybe you’re just going to have to teach me your ways.” Sasuke’s breath is just above a whisper, a low sound that sends shivers up and down Naruto’s spine.

Then, Sasuke brings his hand up to open the cabinet just next to Naruto’s head and grabs a stick of deodorant. Sasuke backs away, a smirk on his lips as he holds the deodorant and shakes it before Naruto. “Excuse me, just needed to grab this.” He says with that same smirk, his voice impossibly amorous, before he turns away like it’s nothing. 

“I could have just grabbed it for you.” Naruto attempts to appear unaffected, to reciprocate the nonchalance Sasuke exudes.

“Well that would have been boring. Plus you said I needed practice so…” Sasuke trails off, putting on the deodorant and unfolding the shirt that rested on the nightstand.

“So _now_ you suddenly listen to every word I say?” Naruto moves for the mattress, flopping on top of it in a heap. As soon as his head hits his single pillow, Naruto feels the adrenaline from the previous interaction slowly begin to fade as his exhaustion kicks in, the warmth in his gut still remains however.

“I’ve always been told I have selective hearing.” Sasuke says, and Naruto hums before he rolls over to give him some privacy as he changes into fresh clothes.

“Anyway,” Sasuke starts, “Sakura wanted to try out some new medical equipment she found on me. She called it a “spontaneous check up.” Sasuke put it in air quotes and mimicked Sakura’s voice as mediocrely as possible.

“Ah. Good luck, I think I’m gonna pass out. If you need me, try not to yell too loud cause I dont wanna have a heart attack. Then _I_ will be the one who needs a “spontaneous check up.” Naruto says.

“Right. I’ll just punch you really hard if I need to wake you then. I might just do it for fun.” Sasuke quips as he takes the few steps it took to reach the door. “See you.”

It takes Naruto a bit longer to fall asleep, his mind running a million thoughts a minute as he thinks over the entire interaction that occured. 

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading! kudos and comments are greatly appreciated!


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